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Water in top of porch column ...

Our house is only 3 years old, and we found standing water in our column cap (see pics). Although a piece of cement board was place on top of the porch column by our builder, water is still getting in.

What is the best way to keep water out of these columns? I've been searching the internet and haven't found anything yet. Do you drill holes in the caps to let the water drain (probably would leave drip lines on your columns - yuck)? Do you have to seal the cement board on a regular basis? Do you have to angle the cement board to let the water runoff? Should we use a different material than cement board on the top of these columns?

Re: Water in top of porch column ...

only way to keep out the water for good is to install flashing. that would require you to remove the columns and cut in a slot if needed where the flashing can go up inside behind the stucco.
you are not going to be able to buy this flashing it will have to be custom bent. My advice is to hire a contractor to do this work.

Other option is to re place the hardi so that it has some slope for the water to drain away from the center of the column, this may not look as nice, but it is more of a do-it yourself project and could save you some $ although it still may not solve your problem long term.

Re: Water in top of porch column ...

I'm with Nick here, the proper way is with flashing. Most likely the water is either running down the back of the cement board or wicking around it. Perhaps your builder would be willing to help address this issue. If no help possible at this time, a galvanized plate with lip pushed up under the siding, caulked with high grade silicon, and covered with the cement board would buy some time.